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So many companies these days get their leads from website inquiries, trade shows, Internet advertising, media advertising, etc, and they ask me over and over again: “What's the best way to deal with these kinds of leads?"

Good question. You would think that getting back to a “warm lead" would be easy, but you'd be surprised how many sales reps (80% of them) mishandle these opportunities.

Here are the do’s and don’ts of qualifying warm leads.

#1: DO begin your opening in a welcoming, and assumptive way.

Try:

“Hi ______ this is ______ with ________ company. I wanted to thank you for (visiting our web site, stopping by our booth, your interest in) and I wanted to answer any questions you had. What specifically were you interested in?

DON’T be vague:

"Ah, this is ________ getting back with you, I see you went to our web site and I was wondering how I can help you?"

#2: DO be prepared to ask qualifying questions and LISTEN to uncover their specific buying motives.

Try:

“What motivated you to take the time to fill out our request form?"

“What specifically were you interested in?"

“What part of our (product/service) appealed to you most?"

“Many of our clients like that we provide X. Is that what you were looking for, too?

DON’T start pitching! 80% of your competition make the critical error of assuming a warm lead is interested in your product or service so they start pitching. Don't go into pitch mode!#3: DO use a script. The Top 20% understand how important it is to make a connection, stay in control, uncover buying motives, and disqualify the prospects who are just looking. Only a carefully crafted script allows you to do that.

DON’T ad-lib your way through your presentation. 80% of your competition still make the mistake of assuming that a warm lead is a good lead and so they often quickly make appointments, send demos, etc., without properly qualifying. Big mistake! Treat a warm lead like any other and qualify it using a script.

Applying these three rules will vastly improve your success with call-in or warm leads. Incorporate them today and see for yourself – you’ll glad you did!

About Mike Brooks

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of Top 20% performance. It started for Mike in 1987 after a failed attempt to own and operate a nightclub. He had just blown every dime he had, maxed out every… more